Light-vehicle sales rose 6 percent in March to 1.54 million units, exceeding analysts’ forecasts, with the seasonally adjusted sales rate also increasing to 16.4 million units from 15.3 million units a year ago.
Chrysler Group reported the most significant sales growth among major automakers with a 13 percent rise, followed by Nissan with 8 percent. Ford sales were up 3 percent, GM’s 4 percent and Toyota’s 5 percent.
Chrysler Group saw strong demand for Jeeps and the Ram pickup (pictured), with the latter posting a 26 percent in deliveries, while Jeep sales rose 47 percent to 57,983 units. The introduction of the Cherokee and revamped 2014 Grand Cherokee have boosted Jeep’s deliveries. While Chrysler’s truck sales rose 34 percent, car volume dropped 25 percent, mainly because of the Chrysler brand (-23 percent).
GM said volume rose 3 percent at Chevrolet, 7 percent at GMC and 13 percent at Buick, while Cadillac’s deliveries fell 6 percent.
Ford’s retail volume rose 3 percent to 166,030 units, with demand increasing 3 percent at the Ford division and 31 percent at Lincoln. Fusion deliveries hit an all-time record of 32,963, while F-Series increased 5 percent to 70,940.
Nissan set a monthly U.S. sales record of 149,136 units, with the Nissan brand rising 8 percent and Infiniti jumping 13 percent. Toyota rose 5 percent thanks to strong 23 percent growth from Lexus and a 3 percent increase at the Toyota division.
Hyundai posted a 2 percent drop in its March sales while Kia rose 12 percent. The VW brand dipped 3 percent to 36,717 units, marking the 12th straight monthly decline for the marque.
By Dan Mihalascu
Story References: Automotive News
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